Corky Pickering: So many home lost to fire

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No humor today, as I can’t get the thought of so many homes destroyed in Paradise out of my mind. It’s like trying to comprehend a billion dollars or the number of galaxies and stars in the universe. I know more than 11,000 is not a staggering number, unless it is the number of houses destroyed in a small community. And of course, we’re not really talking about “houses.” We’re talking about “lives,” since a home is really where families live and make the memories of a lifetime.

It was hard enough to contemplate the thousand-plus homes lost in Redding. But the number in Paradise is unfathomable.

Where can all of those folks go? I read that the number of available listings in Chico dropped by more than a hundred homes last week. As someone who’s been in the real estate business, I can’t help but wonder how this catastrophe will affect the local real estate market. Yesterday I heard that a new home development in Chico had sold out completely.

With more than 8,000 families needing a place to live, hundreds of homes sold is just a drop in the bucket. People don’t want to wait, and who can blame them? No one likes living in temporary quarters. They want to get on with their lives and restore a sense of normalcy.

There is no way the news can provide us with a genuine picture of what’s happening in the lives of thousands of displaced persons. We see a tent city at Walmart, campers at the fairgrounds, and numerous shelters. And there must be thousands of others crowded into the homes of friends, relatives and even strangers. This will be a Thanksgiving none will forget. Those having a place to stay and to celebrate the holiday will be especially thankful. And all will be thankful for being able to escape the fire, especially as the death toll continues to rise.

The Camp Fire is not like the Carr Fire in Redding where the city’s infrastructure escaped virtually unscathed and rebuilding could start almost immediately. The town of Paradise no longer exists. If someone rebuilds a home, they will have to travel to Chico for everything. And if a business reopens, where will the customers come from? The entire situation is one big Catch-22. Many folks may move somewhere else entirely. But where? To wherever they can find work and a home they can afford.

These folks will be trickling into cities all over California, the Northwest and probably the nation. How can you buy a home if your employer’s business was destroyed and you have no job? Maybe it’s time to move to where homes are more affordable. People with portable employment skills and sufficient fire insurance should be able to relocate almost anywhere in the country. I’m certain that many families are asking themselves the question, “Is it time for a change?”

Some will view this as an opportunity to start new lives elsewhere. For others, the driving force will be the necessity of finding employment. The one certainty is that this fatal calamity will have far reaching repercussions that will never be known. You’ve heard of the butterfly effect, where one butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the world can impact far away events? If that’s true, then the Camp Fire was a giant dragon, and the flapping of its wings may change the world. Let’s hope it’s for the better. Especially for all those folks who have lost not only their homes, but loved ones as well. God bless you all.

Corky Pickering and his wife relocated from the Bay Area to Cottonwood in 2014. He recently retired from the federal government as an attorney advising law enforcement. He has been a rock and roll bass player and a Marine JAG. He can be reached at thecork6@gmail.com.